What's the current super guarantee rate?

12% of ordinary time earnings, having reached that rate from 1 July 2025.

What happens if I pay super late?

It triggers the super guarantee charge: the amount stops being tax deductible, interest and administration fees apply, and you have to lodge a super guarantee charge statement with the ATO. Avoiding late super is one of the most valuable habits in payroll.

Do small employers have to use STP?

Yes. STP applies to employers of every size in Australia, with only narrow exemptions, and any STP-enabled payroll software handles the reporting as part of each pay run.

Single Touch Payroll: what every Australian employer needs to have right

Jamee White, CPA25 July 20266 min read

Single Touch Payroll means the ATO sees your payroll data the moment you pay your team, not once a year at tax time. That's fine when payroll's right, and uncomfortable when it's nearly right. Here's what STP actually reports, where employers commonly slip up, and the habits that keep payroll boring, in the best possible way.

What STP reports to the ATO

Every pay event sends salaries and wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation liability information for each employee, itemised under STP Phase 2 into detailed categories: gross, overtime, allowances, bonuses, leave types, salary sacrifice, among others. The ATO reconciles all of it against your activity statements and your super fund payments, automatically.

STP Phase 2, in one paragraph

Phase 2 expanded exactly how much detail employers have to report: income types, disaggregated gross pay components, employment basis and tax treatment codes. In practice, it means your payroll categories need to be set up correctly, because a wage lumped into the wrong category is now a reporting error the ATO can see, not just an internal untidiness nobody notices.

Super guarantee: the deadline that actually bites

The super guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings, having reached 12% from 1 July 2025. Payments are currently due quarterly, and late super is uniquely painful: the super guarantee charge kills deductibility, adds interest and administration fees, and comes with its own ATO paperwork. Paying super on time is one of the highest-return habits in Australian payroll, full stop. Note that payday super has been legislated from July 2026, so keep an eye on how the timing rules apply to your business as guidance rolls out.

The five payroll errors we see most

Wrong award interpretation: base rates fine, allowances and penalties wrong
Payroll categories mapped to the wrong STP Phase 2 fields
Super calculated on the wrong earnings base
Manual edits to pay runs that never make it back to the ledger, so payroll and accounts disagree
Terminations processed without the right final pay, leave payout or reporting treatment

Habits that keep payroll clean

Reconcile payroll to the ledger every run, not once a quarter
Review one pay run a month in real detail, including a spot check against the award
Clear the super payable account against actual fund payments, and keep the evidence
Document the payroll process so it survives staff changes
Finalise STP promptly at year end so employees' tax records come out right

Where NextEra fits

NextEra manages payroll end to end for established businesses: documented pay run processes, STP reporting, super tracked right through to payment, leave and entitlements checked, reconciliation to the ledger every cycle. Payroll questions get answered by someone who actually knows your file, not a call centre.

Quick answers

STP is the ATO's payroll reporting system. Employers report wages, PAYG withholding and super liability information electronically with every pay run, through STP-enabled software such as Xero.

This article is general information for Australian businesses, current at the published date. It is not financial, tax or legal advice. Speak to a registered agent or adviser about your circumstances before acting.

Jamee White, CPA

Founder of NextEra Bookkeeping. Jamee leads a team supporting established Australian businesses with strategic bookkeeping, reporting, payroll and Xero, and is a multiple national awards finalist across bookkeeping and finance.